Oct 11, 2023
“Retton’s Heroic Fight Against Pneumonia”
In a hospital in Texas, Olympic gymnastics icon Mary Lou Retton is waging a fierce battle against a severe bout of pneumonia.
McKenna Kelley, Retton’s daughter, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share the distressing news. She disclosed that the 55-year-old Retton, celebrated as the first American woman to secure the Olympic all-around title, is currently in a critical condition, reliant on medical support for her breathing.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Kelley has launched a fundraising campaign to alleviate the mounting medical expenses. She emphasized that Retton is presently without medical insurance.
At a mere 16 years old, Retton etched her name in history as a symbol of the US Olympic movement with her gold-medal triumph at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Originating from Fairmont, West Virginia, Retton also clinched two silver and two bronze medals at that Olympics, significantly propelling gymnastics—a discipline traditionally dominated by eastern European powerhouses like Romania and the Soviet Union—into the American mainstream.
